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Monday, October 7, 2013

Road Trip: Alexandria

Today we had to consider our options. We were thinking about going to Mount Vernon, but we all got a little bit lazy after a delicious homemade strata for breakfast.

Egg, bread, sausage, and cheese strata

We decided to skip Mount Vernon and walked down to the Potomac Riverfront to enjoy a look around. Our family hosts were again excellent tour guides of their neighborhood. We went through the old(e?) cobbled streets and checked out the neighborhoods. At the riverfront, we saw a cool glass harp player and many other street performers. We walked through an old building that was once a torpedo munitions plant and is now gallery and studio space for a variety of local artists.

Glass player with the Alexandria Trolley cruising behind

Looking toward the Capitol from the Virginia side of the Potomac

Frog checking out the docklands

Enjoying the view of the Potomac

We visited Christ Church, the famous home church of George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Lee's family had roots in Alexandria, so they just happened to attend the same church, years apart. The reserved pews set aside for each of the families are marked with engraved signatures and preserved today. We sat in Washington's family pew while admiring and learning about the rest of the church.

Washington's pew- In your face, King George!

Christ Church- from the front looking to the rear

Robert E. Lee's family pew

It was a nice way to finish our family visit. We got home in the early afternoon and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening together-mostly...Tomorrow we have a long drive to visit our brother-in-law's parents before heading back to Iowa to finish the trip.